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Sa’ra Skipper has spent most of her life worried about staying alive for another day. She has Type 1 diabetes, which means she needs insulin to survive, and for years she’s had trouble affording it. Her younger sister is a Type 1 diabetic also, and Sa’ra recalls that as children, “my church, extended family, and members of our community were instrumental in our survival.” In college, she says, “I began to eat less to make my insulin last longer.” Less food means more hunger, but it also means less blood sugar for the insulin to control. (Colvin, 12/6)  

Two Pennsylvania senators are fighting to make insulin more affordable. Senator Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) and Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Adams, Franklin, York, Cumberland) introduced the ‘Affordable Insulin Act’ which would cap the price of insulin at just $30 per month. (Brandt, 12/2)

Insulet said it now expects FDA clearance for its much-anticipated Omnipod 5 insulin patch pump in the first quarter of 2022 rather than later this year, a delay that sent its stock tumbling more than 8% on Friday. ... With Omnipod 5, Insulet promises to bring to market the first closed-loop insulin delivery system via a tubeless pump, in combination with Dexcom's G6 continuous glucose monitor. The system detects changes in blood glucose levels and automatically adjusts patients' insulin doses. (Kelly, 12/6)

When Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, was officially approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in June, it was a decision that flouted overwhelming pushback from doctors in the field, dozens of whom argued that Biogen had failed to demonstrate whether the drug had any clinical value. Since then, only about a hundred Americans have been prescribed the medication – a vanishingly small amount for a disease that afflicts 5.8 million. But even as the scope of Aduhelm's use remains limited, critics are now warning that its fiscal implications could spell disaster for American healthcare as we know it. Aduhelm alone, priced at a whopping $56,000 a year, has already contributed to an approximate $10 spike in monthly Medicare Part B premiums, according to a recent CNN report. (Skolnik, 12/4)

The former chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. Elijah Cummings, didn’t live to see the day when drug prices would fall significantly in the United States. But his work in launching an investigation into the industry's pricing practices has already shed a harsh spotlight on the routine price hikes and anticompetitive tactics that companies use to boost their top-lines. On Thursday, the committee—now led by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)—will hold a hearing to examine the findings of the investigation that kicked off in January 2019, nine months before Cummings' death. (Dunleavy, 12/6)

Pharmacy benefit managers are more profitable as the sector consolidates, new research shows. PBMs, which negotiate rebates from drug manufacturers on behalf of payers, create networks of pharmacies and determine reimbursements to those pharmacies, have been joining forces with large insurers and pharmacies. That has helped boost PBMs' gross profit from PBM-owned mail order and specialty pharmacies to $10.1 billion in 2019, up 13% from $8.9 billion in 2017, according PBM Accountability Project's analysis of financial records, government reports, studies and surveys. (Kacik, 12/3)